Thursday, December 18, 2014

Is telling banks “make your profits where it’s safe and stay away from what’s risky” an un-American act of cowardice?

I have heard many comments indicating as an “un-American act of cowardice”, that Sony cancelled the release of “The Interview”, after North Korean government hackers penetrated the studio's computers and threatened to attack theaters that showed the movie. 

I will not get into that but I would though take this opportunity to pop a question of my own on that epithet.

Currently regulations allow banks to hold much less capital (meaning equity) against assets perceived as absolutely safe than against assets perceived as risky; which allows banks to leverage their equity much more against assets perceived as absolutely safe than against assets perceived as risky; which of course means that banks will make much higher risk-adjusted returns on equity on assets perceived as absolutely safe than on assets perceived as risky… and which effectively means regulators are telling the banks “Go and make your profits where it is safe and stay away from the risky”. 

With that are not regulators inciting the banks in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave to commit un-American acts of cowardice?